Combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) systems can take on several forms and have been known to include fuel cells. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device which reacts hydrogen with oxygen to produce electricity and water. The basic process is highly efficient, and fuel cells fueled directly by hydrogen are substantially pollution-free. Moreover, as fuel cells can be assembled into stacks of various sizes, fuel cell systems have been developed to produce a wide range of electrical power output levels and thus can be employed in numerous applications.
Although the fundamental electrochemical processes involved in fuel cells are well understood, engineering solutions have proven elusive for making efficient use of fuel cells, especially in residential and light commercial applications, where the power output demands of a fuel cell are not as significant as those in industrial and utility applications. The prior art approach of sophisticated balance-of-plant systems is unsuitable for optimizing and maintaining relatively low power capacity applications and often result in wasted energy and systems that are not cost-effective.
Improvements in fuel cell efficiency can be realized if there is recovery of the thermal energy produced by the fuel cell.